Licensing · United States
Why zero really means zero.
How music licensing works in the U.S., what it costs, where the risk sits — and the legal logic behind a catalog with nothing left to pay.
01 · The context
Four organizations. Four licenses.
In the U.S. there is no single collecting society. Playing popular music in a business means dealing with:
ASCAP
Open membership. Under DOJ consent decree. Published rates scale with your occupancy or speaker count.
BMI
Largest catalog. Under DOJ consent decree. A separate contract, renewal and invoice.
SESAC
Invitation only. For-profit, no consent decree. Negotiated rates.
GMR
Invitation only. A boutique roster of chart writers. The fourth license you still need.
· No single license covers all four catalogs.
· Four contracts, four renewals, four invoices — per location.
· Fees scale with your occupancy or speaker count, not your revenue.
· Rates rise every year, indexed to inflation.
02 · The math
What a business pays today
ASCAP's published 2026 rates — one PRO out of four.
Restaurants · per seat / yr
$4.69
Recorded music, per person of licensed occupancy. Live music: $8.05; DJ, karaoke or dancing: +$2.72.
A 200-seat venue / yr
$938
To ASCAP alone — before BMI, SESAC and GMR. Minimum $502 per venue.
Retail · per store / yr
$324
Up to 3 speakers; +$67 per additional speaker, capped at $2,715 per store.
All four combined A reported floor of $1,300–$1,500 per location, per year — and it only goes up from there.
Illustrative estimates from published 2026 ASCAP rate schedules and reported PRO minimums (ASCAP $402, BMI $365, SESAC $580, plus GMR). Actual fees vary by occupancy, size, programming and group agreements — confirmed by audit.
03 · The risk
The exemption most operators think they have
U.S. law (17 U.S.C. §110(5)) exempts small premises from licensing — but the exemption follows the source of the music, not the size of the room.
What §110(5) covers
- Food & drink premises under 3,750 sq ft; retail under 2,000 sq ft
- Larger premises: max 6 speakers, 4 per room
- Source must be an FCC-licensed radio / TV broadcast
- No cover charge at the door
What it does not cover
- Any streaming or music service
- Playlists, CDs, digital files, internet radio
- Live music, DJs, karaoke, in-store events
- Jukeboxes
Consumer apps are not licensed
Spotify and Apple Music are for private use only. A business account does not exist.
Damages are statutory
$750 to $150,000 per song, plus the PRO's legal fees.
Enforcement is systematic
PROs monitor social media, Google Maps and public listings.
In practice If your business plays anything other than broadcast radio, no exemption applies — whatever its size.
04 · The legal logic
Two rights per song. Both at zero.
Every recorded song carries two separate rights. Here is what happens to each one.
1 · The composition
Normally licensed through ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR.
With MusicTMM Universum: we own our compositions outright. No PRO administers them, so there is no PRO to pay.
→ $0 · ASCAP · BMI · SESAC · GMR
2 · The sound recording
U.S. law grants no public performance right for recordings played over in-venue speakers.
With MusicTMM Universum: we also own our master recordings — so no statutory license and no SoundExchange exposure.
→ $0 · SoundExchange
The result One subscription. No performance royalties, no rate reviews, no annual indexation, no audit exposure.
Scope: this covers the recorded music you play in your rooms. If you also programme live bands or DJ sets of third-party repertoire, those performances remain separately licensable — we will tell you so upfront.
Note: competing services that stream third-party catalogs into venues pay SoundExchange 14.75% of gross proceeds in 2026. We do not — and that difference sits in your price.
This page is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Rate figures are illustrative estimates from published 2026 rate schedules and reported PRO minimums; actual fees vary and are confirmed by audit. Consult your counsel for advice on your specific situation.
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